Rabbits were raised for over a thousand years in Mexico without becoming domesticated. A new study finds that their solitary lifestyle and greater species diversity made domestication unlikely. These breeds belong to Europe’s only rabbit species, originally limited to the Iberian Peninsula and Southern France and used for meat and fur since the last Ice…

Scott Lee is a physics professor at the University of Toledo who has developed numerous learning activities to help intro-level students get enthusiastic about the topic. His latest innovative activity poses the question: Is Usain Bolt faster than a 900-pound dinosaur? Scott Lee is a physics professor at the University of Toledo who has developed…

Microbial life is bubbling up to the ocean floor along with fluids from deeply buried petroleum reservoirs, reports a team of scientists. «This study confirms that petroleum seeps are a conduit for transporting life from the deep biosphere to the seafloor,» says co-author Emil Ruff, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole.…

Natural disasters have a way of bringing people together to rebuild. Now, researchers have found that the same is true for rhesus macaques. The new study reports that after a major hurricane hit Puerto Rico, macaques living on Cayo Santiago Island became more tolerant of each other and sought new social connections. The study reports…

Almost 80 years after its discovery, a large shell from the ornate Marsoulas Cave in the Pyrenees has been studied by a multidisciplinary team: it is believed to be the oldest wind instrument of its type. The Marsoulas Cave, between Haute-Garonne and Ariege, was the first decorated cave to be found in the Pyrenees. Discovered…

With the help of Inuit hunters, geophysicists recently recorded the various calls, buzzes, clicks and whistles of narwhals as they summered in a Greenland fjord. The recordings help scientists better understand the soundscape of Arctic glacial fjords and provide valuable insight into the behavior of these shy and mysterious creatures, according to the researchers. Narwhals…

In ancient Egypt, sacred ibises were collected from their natural habitats to be ritually sacrificed, according to a new study. Egyptian catacombs are famously filled with the mummified bodies of Sacred Ibises. Between around 664BC and 250AD, it was common practice for the birds to be sacrificed, or much more rarely worshipped in ritual service…

Volcanoes erupt when molten rock called magma rises to the surface, and many factors, from the shape of the volcano to the composition of the magma, factor into the timing of eruptions. In the case of the May 2018 eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, a new study points to another eruption factor: prolonged, sometimes heavy…

Feathers, an owl head and oars suggest the people in this Iron Age grave were prepared for a long journey. The burial field in Valsgarde outside Uppsala in central Sweden contains more than 90 graves from the Iron Age. «On a light note, we could say that Valsgarde is Scandinavia’s answer to Sutton Hoo in…

Sediment samples and Optically Stimulated Luminescence help determine age of jars of one of South East Asia’s most important archaeological sites. Sediment samples from beneath stone jars from two of the more than 120 recorded megalithic sites were obtained by a team led Dr Louise Shewan from the University of Melbourne, Associate Professor Dougald O’Reilly…